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{
    "id": 371567,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/371567/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 71,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Nderitu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2546,
        "legal_name": "Francis Waweru Nderitu",
        "slug": "francis-waweru-nderitu"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to support the Motion. First of all, I would like to thank the Mover of the Motion, hon. Florence Kajuju, for bringing it at this time. I remember sometimes when I was reading the papers about a young man who travelled to Tanzania with a bunch of miraa. To him, having coming from Kajiado, he thought that, that was a normal business like the one he was doing in Kenya, only to find that it is not the case in Tanzania. So, as this Committee tries to give us a report, we should also look at the regional markets and see where the trend of classifying miraa as a drug started. I am a valuer and I have done a lot of work in Meru. Every time I am called to do work there, the first question the caller asks me is: “Do you know the value of miraa ?” So, to me, I know very well that the economic value of miraa in that region has such a large impact on the people of Meru and, without that plant there - as one of the speakers has called it the “green gold” of Meru - the impact and the economic situation of that area would be very much affected. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I would like the Committee to consider very well all the areas that miraa is used extensively so that, in the list of the Committee members, they try to include all the people - even the users - including those ones in Namanga. I usually travel there and the fear of people being caught with miraa on the Tanzania border has such a big impact. I come from Ndaragwa Constituency and due to its climate, people have been considering extensively the idea of growing miraa as a cash crop. That is because it is a dry region and looking at the level of unemployment in the area, everybody is considering every option that is there to make sure that we create more employment opportunities. The Government is fighting to create employment and if that ban is enforced, one of the things that we will have to lose tremendously will be employment opportunities. So, I support this Motion and I know very well that with the kind of expertise that we have received from the likes of Dr. Nyikal, we will be able to get a better informed opinion for some of us who do not know about miraa very well. So, when we are in our communities that we go every day, we are able to tackle the issue of"
}